Statement of The Honorable J. Brett Blanton

Architect of the Capitol 

Architect of the Capitol Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations

Statement before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, 

Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate

April 13, 2020
Statement before the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch,

Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives

Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations - 1

Chairwoman Hyde Smith, Ranking Member Murphy

and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the 

opportunity to present the Architect of the Capitol’s 

(AOC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget request of $798 

million.

Earlier this year, I was honored to join this notable 

institution as the 12th Architect of the Capitol. In the 

first few weeks of leading this organization, I met

with my executives and staff to better understand the 

strengths and weaknesses of the agency. A couple of

weeks later, the agency began responding to the 

COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Today, the AOC team continues to work tirelessly to 

care for the Capitol Complex. As we all witnessed, 

the United States Senate worked night and day to 

pass the largest relief package in American history. 

Throughout that time, employees of the AOC kept

the Senate Office Buildings clean, sanitized, and well 

maintained to enable congressional staff to safely do 

their jobs.

The outbreak and the threat of infection by COVID19 has rightly caused Americans to be concerned and 

anxious. I am proud of the AOC employees who played an important role in helping Congress 

respond to the country’s urgent needs. Making me even more proud, is that the AOC team 

continues to support campus needs by serving as the legislative branch purchasing agent for 

emergency supplies, managing the sanitization of spaces identified by our partners and ensuring the 

facilities and utilities are well maintained for future congressional needs. 

Under these conditions, I have also been able to assess the future needs of the agency as a whole. I 

believe the AOC has all the necessary elements to succeed in its mission of serving Congress and the 

Supreme Court, preserving America’s Capitol and inspiring memorable experiences. With your 

support, I honestly feel the best is yet to come for the Architect of the Capitol.

Massive, once-in-a-generation renovations of exterior facades, interior spaces and system 

infrastructure are occurring across campus. Industry-leading changes to energy production and 

efficiency are being realized through the Capitol Power Plant’s cogeneration system and several 

Energy Saving Performance Contracts. These transformation energy projects will maximize the use 

of appropriated funds and have the potential of reducing the Capitol Campus’ energy consumption 

by upwards of 50 percent by 2025. The Architect of the Capitol provides exceptional support for 

large-scale public events, exhibits and educational programs. This support solidifies our agency’s 

ability to deliver on behalf of the Congress and the Supreme Court. 

VIEW OF THE WEST FRONT OF THE U.S. CAPITOL
Statement before the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch,

Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives

Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations - 2

For a small agency with modest resources, the level of effort required to simultaneously develop and 

execute short-term and long-range capital funding priorities and projects while minimizing disruption 

to the building occupants and record numbers of annual visitors is nothing short of amazing. 

I am excited to bring my executive expertise to the AOC. The agency is mission driven and committed 

to service. Harnessing the dedication of my personnel to improve processes, operations, accountability 

and transparency is one of my top priorities. 

Redirecting that enthusiasm and effort will be a difficult transition for the agency and our clients. 

Much of our work is ongoing. Even more emphasis is needed to better address deferred maintenance 

and emergent needs required for our facilities. As you know well, our needs far outweigh available 

resources within the Legislative Branch. As a result, our FY 2021 request continues the principles of 

the FY 2020 budget but seeks targeted increases in several key areas. 

Operationally, we must continue to prioritize our critical centralized services and personnel that 

directly support our front line operations. Therefore, in FY 2021, we prioritized 16 percent of the 

agency’s requested resources to support the core central services that influence the execution of the 

entire program. Within this we are targeting areas that have a direct impact on the agency’s ability to 

execute our capital budget and deliver projects on time and on budget. Adequate support for studies, 

planning, project design and development, construction oversight and project management is lacking. 

We need to increase our ability to award contracts and procure supplies in a timely manner. And we 

must fast-track our modernization of information technology business processes. 

The AOC’s risk-based project 

prioritization process identified 

$183.2 million for capital projects 

across campus in FY 2021. Of 

those, only $18.6 million are new 

infrastructure projects. The agency 

will continue to pursue critical 

campus-wide stone and metal 

rehabilitation, landscape 

restorations and upgrades to 

security, utility, fire and life safety 

system needs and conduct studies 

that help us anticipate future 

project needs.

In this request, one of the biggest projects is the next phase of the fire alarm system replacement in 

the Hart Senate Office Building. This important project will complete the replacement of all of the 

existing equipment and infrastructure with a modern, code-compliant fire alarm system. We also 

have budgeted significant resources to support the Library of Congress’ aging infrastructure, as well 

as their continued expansion needs. The request for construction of Book Storage Module 7 at the 

Library’s Ft. Meade campus represents approximately 23% of our total capital budget submission. 

FY 2021 LICP Request

Studies and Designs $35.5 m

Ongoing Projects $98.9 m

Operation and Maintenance Upgrades $30.2 m

New Starts $18.6 m

Total Request $183.2 m
Statement before the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch,

Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives

Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations - 3

As I settle into this new role, I am 

committed to continuing a top-tobottom evaluation of the agency

to address both real and perceived 

issues. I appreciate that my 

predecessor and both of the 

Acting Architects that followed 

him identified and sought ways to 

address human capital, 

information technology and 

budgetary challenges. I, too, have 

thoughts about how to modernize 

the agency, better use federal 

resources and support our clients.

You have my commitment that I 

will act quickly to implement 

solutions and keep this committee 

informed about our progress. 

Specifically, we will develop a robust human capital strategy to address the changing workforce and 

the challenges of competing for talent in a region undergoing a healthy construction boom. The plan 

will ensure succession planning and train or retain our top talent. We will modernize the agency’s 

information technology infrastructure and continue to strengthen our cyber security initiatives. We will 

further leverage every dollar entrusted to us through a comprehensive enterprise asset management 

program that will enable us to optimize projects that produce the highest rate of return for facility 

longevity.

More than ever, the AOC needs a strong, transformational leader who will build upon our successes 

and usher in a new era of accountability to effectively maintain and preserve the universally recognized

symbol of Western Representative Democracy. I am humbled to be that leader. 

I appreciate your support of the AOC and I look forward to working with you this year as you 

consider our FY 2021 budget request. 

AOC EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY CELEBRATES THE HARD WORK OF OUR 

2,300 DEDICATED EMPLOYEES